Policy In Latvia Research Articles

Regulatory and Policy Framework for Social Housing in Latvia: Current State and Future Directions

Abstract This study examines the regulatory and policy framework for social housing in Latvia, focusing on its current state and future directions. Through comprehensive policy analysis and document review, the research traces the historical development of social housing policies, evaluates the existing regulatory landscape, and compares Latvian approaches with EU best practices. The study reveals significant challenges in Latvia’s social housing sector, including limited stock, inadequate funding mechanisms, and policy gaps in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly. Despite these challenges, recent initiatives and proposed reforms indicate a growing recognition of the importance of social housing in addressing demographic shifts and economic disparities. The findings highlight the need for a more robust and adaptive policy framework that aligns with EU standards while addressing Latvia’s unique socio-economic context. The study proposes policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the accessibility, affordability, and quality of social housing, with a particular emphasis on age-friendly housing solutions. By identifying key areas for improvement and potential innovative approaches, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on social housing policy in Latvia and offers insights for policymakers, urban planners, and housing stakeholders.

THE EXPERIENCE OF LATVIA IN TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND TAKEAWAYS FOR UKRAINE

The article focuses on aspects of the transitional justice implemented in the Republic of Latvia after the restoration of its independence. The case of Latvia is examined through institutional reform, lustration, prosecution, politics of memory, truth-seeking, rehabilitation and reparations. In addition, Latvia’s state policy regarding citizenship played a decisive role in addressing an array of problems inherited from the Soviet period.
 The main purpose of this study is to highlight the state policy in Latvia, which achieved a high level of protection of the national interests during the transition period, while minimizing risks for its territorial integrity and social unity.
 Latvia’s experience proves that transitional justice has ensured the country’s democratic progress as well as its integration to the EU and NATO. The implemented reforms and institutional changes in the public administration system have laid the foundation for effective decision-making and policy implementation in Latvia. Hence, Latvia among those European countries, which have been providing Ukraine with political and diplomatic support as well as tangible military and humanitarian aid since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
 A comparative assessment of Latvia and Ukraine is appropriate, because both countries had to overcome similar challenges associated with the Soviet occupation and then treats emanating from the Russian Federation. The author argues that this Baltic country has achieved successful results due to a comprehensive state policy of transitional justice. This assessment also considers the main missteps and mistakes that Ukraine made in its domestic and foreign policy in the post-Soviet period.
 Based on a proposed examination of Latvia’s practices, the author makes a number of recommendations for forming a transitional justice model in Ukraine. The findings indicate that some effective Latvian approaches and measures can be adapted in Ukraine to overcome the consequences of the war and problems related to the temporary occupation of part of the Ukrainian territory.

Can renewable energy communities enable a just energy transition? Exploring alignment between stakeholder motivations and needs and EU policy in Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Spain

As a response to societal polarisation and mobilisation against the clean energy transition and renewable energy projects, policy makers at EU level have put focus on renewable energy communities as an instrument to drive transition, due their ability to promote citizens' participation and control over decision-making in renewable energy at local level. Literature on public acceptance and legitimacy of renewable energy projects highlights issues related to who are recognised and included as stakeholders, (un)fair distribution of the costs and benefits related to projects and the decision-making procedures involved. Renewable energy communities bring potential positive aspects that drive public acceptance, including social ownership, community development and distribution of benefits to grassroot actors. We contribute to the literature on how energy justice is perceived and can be enacted through renewable energy communities. In this article we explore what challenges for energy justice can be identified for renewable energy communities from the perspective of potential and existing shareholders in Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Spain. We also briefly discuss how identified challenges are addressed in the recast Renewable Energy Directive (REDII).

Problems and Solutions of Multi-apartment Housing Management in Latvia

Housing policy is closely related to the well-being and social integration of the population of each country, and has a great impact on the development of various sectors and the entire national economy. An important part of housing policy is the housing management sector, whose processes affect all levels of society. The goals of the housing policy in Latvia are to promote the quality and availability of housing and to ensure the regulatory basis for management. Special attention should be paid to multi-apartment residential buildings, as they occupy more than half of the total residential area in Latvia, and approximately 65% of the population lives in apartments. The tasks of the study are to identify, collect and analyse information on the aspects of managing multi-apartment residential buildings, as well as to provide recommendations for the improvement of the housing policy. The monographic or descriptive method was used for the analysis of the theoretical base. In order to find out the current situation and the main problems related to the management of residential buildings, a survey was conducted in which residents of multi-apartment residential buildings of different series and different in number of apartments participated. Analysing the results of the survey, it was found that the main problems are related to incomplete information, lack of interest, incompetence, lack of communication between apartment owners and the house manager, as well as various legal deficiencies regarding ownership rights. Improvement of the regulatory base, increasing the competence of managers and information measures for apartment owners are offered as solutions.

Slow strengthening of Latvia’s resilience in preventing and combating corruption: an analysis of causes

The aim of the article is to present the authors’ assessment of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption policy in Latvia, to establish the compliance of national anti-corruption strategies with the EU goals in terms of preventing and combating corruption. The research methods aim at confirming a hypothesis that in order to deepen anti-corruption reforms and strengthen resilience in the fight against corruption, it is not enough for Latvia to conduct only institutional reforms, but it is important to promote anti-corruption values. The study is based on the methodology of new institutionalism and axiological analysis. The authors argue that if the role of non-democratic values is significant, it will slow down the progressive institutional reforms needed to bring Latvia’s anti-corruption policies fully in line with EU development strategies.

Common Agricultural Policy in Latvia: Sustainability Assessment

Sustainability has become an increasingly important factor in policymaking and investment planning due to environmental, economic, and social concerns. To achieve sustainable development objectives, decision-makers must implement policies encouraging environmentally responsible activities such as enacting laws and regulations, investing in green infrastructure, and encouraging research of new technologies. Furthermore, sustainable investments are essential for the environment and socio-economic development, as they can create jobs, improve livelihoods, and reduce poverty rates.European Union (EU) and its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of oldest and major policies of block. € 387 billion in funding has been allocated to the CAP for the period from 2021 to 2027, or roughly 30 % of EU budget for the period. Latvian national plan for the period 2021–2027 is € 2.5 billion.It is necessary to find correlation between financing and sustainability and how to assess CAP sustainability. Therefore, a study researching the connection between the funds available under European Union’s CAP (Latvian case study) and United Nations sustainability goals is performed using quantitative analysis to evaluate how it promotes implementation of sustainability goals. The research has found that approximately 15 % of CAP will be dedicated to environmental sustainability, while 85 % will be dedicated to social sustainability. Only very few targets are not falling under any UN sustainability goal.The most spread and financially supported UN goal is ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ (65 %), followed by goal ‘Climate action’ (15 %).To mitigate the harm to the environment, vertical targets and directions become more environmentally related over years, and specific and proactively available financing tend to be more focused on the environment.The study shows that CAP is sustainable from the UN sustainability perspective. CAP is a dominantly social and business-related program (85 % of activities and financing). From total activities, 15 % are environmentally related. Further research is needed on what would be the best social and environmental division. Results show that policies sustainability can be analysed and quantified using UN Sustainability goals. Research results can be used to analyse other national CAPs in EU.

The Role of Trade Unions in Regulating Social and Labour Relations and Shaping National Policy in Latvia

The relevance of this study is dictated by the need to determine the role of trade unions in social and labour relations and their degree of influence on the national policy of the Republic of Latvia. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of influence of trade unions on social and labour relations within the framework of the current labour legislation of Latvia and to find potential ways to improve the efficiency of national policy, considering the requirements and desires of the working population of the country. The methodological framework of this study was based on the following methods of cognition: generalisation, analysis and synthesis, analogy, and SWOT analysis. The findings of this study are presented in determining the level of influence of trade unions on the lives of working people in the Republic of Latvia. The paper described the existing trend in Latvian society regarding the popularity of joining trade unions, as well as the conditions for the influence of trade unions on the development and reform of the national policy of the Republic of Latvia, considering the needs, desires, and interests of the working population (society) who are members of trade unions. The results of the study determined the potential significance of trade unions in regulating social and labour relations in Latvia along with the country’s legislation and reflect the role of trade unions in establishing communications between society and the state (using evidence from the 2022 protests). The practical significance of this study is conditioned upon the possibility of using the results obtained in the future for a more in-depth study of the role of trade unions as a tool for communication between society and the state, a mechanism for regulating social and labour relations and supporting workers in Latvia, through the influence on the formation of national policy

Immovable property taxation policy in Latvia

After the restoration of independence, Latvia took a path towards a market economy and private land ownership and which mentioned wide land privatization process and building an immovable property cadastre to collect information on immovable properties. Transition to private land ownership meant that immovable property taxation will start to tax privately owned assets not assets rented from the state, a model similar to other market economies. Initially, there were two laws on the taxation of the property – The law on land tax and the Law on Property Taxation to tax commercial assets and unfinished construction objects which were adopted in December of 1990 even before the starting of land reform and privatization. In 1997 new Law on immovable property tax was approved by the Latvian Parliament and it is still in force with numerous amendments which due to the rapid development of the immovable property sector have been approved until today. Before the global economic-financial crisis in 2008 prices of immovable property were increasing rapidly followed by contraction during the global economic crisis. Immovable property tax is often considered as taxing accumulated wealth however it may have distortions and disproportionate impact on those owners who did not contribute to immovable property value growth. Therefore, the aim of this research is to evaluate the development of the immovable property taxation system development in Latvia and to compare it with the systems of neighbouring countries. Therefore, to achieve this aim following objectives were set: to analyse legislative acts regulating immovable property taxation in Latvia, and practices of other countries and to draw research conclusions.

Nutrient-Rich Organic Soil Management Patterns in Light of Climate Change Policy

Nutrient-rich organic soil management in agriculture is among the critical sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally and at the European level, where the most significant effects are observed in Northern, Eastern, and Central Europe. Growing climate change mitigation targets urge the need to assess and analyze current organic soil management patterns and policy planning and look for appropriate future management strategies. The objectives of this research were to assess the nutrient-rich organic soil management patterns in Latvia during the last decade and to conclude whether organic soil management in agriculture has been climate change mitigation targeted and driven by agriculture support policy. We analyzed the complex, two state-level databases based organic soil data set by using the multidimensional approach of the research methods, including graphical, spatial, correlation, factor, and cluster analysis. Our results revealed the lack of purposeful organic soil management planning in light of the climate change policy in Latvia during the research period and the inexpediency of the agriculture support policy in this regard. The research introduced an innovative methodological approach for the analysis of organic soil management patterns and policy impacts, as well as opened the necessity for a revision of the nutrient-rich organic soil management perspective in light of climate change mitigation targets. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-10-017 Full Text: PDF

Novice Teachers’ Beliefs and Knowledge about Education for Sustainable Development

Incorporating education for sustainable development (ESD) into the curriculum is one of the main priorities of education policy in Latvia and internationally. Implementation of ESD relies greatly on individual teachers’ beliefs, enthusiasm, theoretical knowledge and practical expertise. It is widely recognized that teachers’ beliefs influence their decisions about the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. While teachers’ beliefs and general pedagogical knowledge receive considerable attention in teacher education research worldwide, novice teachers’ beliefs and knowledge regarding sustainability and ESD are not widely discussed despite the widespread assumption that teacher’s preparedness and intention to teach ESD tend to be motivated by the beliefs and knowledge a teacher holds. Some education researchers argue that novice teachers tend to have limited understanding of sustainability and ESD. The aim of the research described in this article was to reveal the range of ways in which a sample of 32 volunteer novice teachers in Latvia perceive, understand and experience ESD, as well as how ESD relates to their professional practice. A phenomenographic approach is applied in this study. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews, written questionnaires, and focus group discussions. The study revealed a range of ways in which novice teachers conceptualize sustainability and ESD. The insights from this research might serve to inform teaching and learning practices in the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching courses and to prepare teachers more adequately to implement ESD.

About Language Policy in Latvia

Language policy is the attitude and plan of a country to indicate the existence of diversified language types in this country. The complexity of the historical tradition and social background of a multi-ethnic country often lead to a diversification of the language situations and corresponding language policies. The evolution of Latvian language policy has a complicated history. With the change of the political environment, the status planning of Latvian has experienced twists and turns. The history of Latvia has been seriously influenced by Germanization and Russianization, and the language life is bilingual or multilingual. After independence, Latvia made Latvian a national language for promotion and popularization. Russian is listed as a foreign language after English and German; however, the inheritance of Russian has a history of hundreds of years in Latvia. Due to special geographical reasons, political and linguistic issues in Latvia have always been intertwined with ethnic issues. The solution of language problem in Latvia should be based on the principle of respect for the tradition of language practice, for the language of each person in order to avoid social conflicts. Mass unrest, as a form of reflection of social conflicts, is inevitable from the point of view of the sociology of conflict.

Вироблення державної політики відкритої науки в країнах Прибалтики (приклад Латвії та Литви).

Problem setting. One of the modern common directions for the development of the European Research Area is the introduction of a new approach to scientific research. The basis of this approach is the paradigm "Open innovation, Open science, Open to the world". The full implementation of this paradigm within the European Research Area is possible only if the implementation of open science policy at the level of individual countries is ensured.In view of the fact that Article 375 (2) of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union for the involvement of Ukraine to the European Research Area, it is possible to state that the research of existing practices of the establishment and implementation of public policy of open science, in particular in the post-Soviet countries, which have had membership in the European Union, it is an urgent challenge today.Recent research and publications analysis. Ukrainian and foreign scientists like Corrall S., Pinfield S., Vicente-Saez R., Martinez-Fuentes C., McKiernan E., Bourne Ph., Kuchma I., Schmidt B., Brui O., Karpenko O., Nazarovets S. et al. have done some scientific research on open science. Also background information on open access development as part of open science in various countries, including Latvia and Lithuania, has been published by UNESCO.However, despite active scientific explorations, no universal approach has been found to establish public policy in open science.The paper objective. Consideration of examples of the establishment and implementation of public policy of open science in the post-Soviet countries that are members of the European Union and European Research Area, with the possibility of further use of such examples in the formation of public policy of open science in Ukraine.The paper main body. The article describes the process of the establishment and implementation of the new modern public science policy in post-soviet countries. The examples of Latvia and Lithuania demonstate the application of the open science paradigm at the state level. The legislative prerequisites for the establishment and implementation of the public open science policy in Latvia and Lithuania are considered. The role of individual higher education institutions in the implementation of the principles of openness in carrying out research activities is noted. The link between the existing open science normative documents in Latvia and Lithuania with the existing imperative and advisory documents of the European Union is demonstrated. The role of e-infrastructures, in particular repositories of scientific data and academic texts, in the implementation of open science policy at the state and institutional levels is shown.Conclusions of the research. The legal prerequisites for public policy in open science in Latvia and Lithuania were laid down in 2005 and 2009, respectively, by the adoption of relevant laws. The main area of open science that is developing in these countries is open access to scientific publications and research data.Despite the fact that the formation of the principles of public policy of open science in Latvia and Lithuania is centralized with the definition of responsible state bodies (for example, in Lithuania, this area of public policy is guarded by the Research Council), its actual implementation takes place in higher education institutions, which, taking into account existing practices, regulations at national and European Union level, independently set the rules and conditions for dealing with scientific publications and research data.This approach justifies itself only partially. On the one hand, it gives scientific institutions some autonomy to pursue an open science policy and allows it to be applied on its own merits, but for the most part, openness as such is advisory rather than compulsory, which obviously affects the activity of actual admission scientists to its application. In addition, a full-fledged mechanism for stimulating (in particular, financial) scholars to openness is being developed, which is also being signaled.Prospects for further exploration include the need to study the processes of formation and implementation of public policy of open science in other countries of the post-Soviet space in order to analyze the features of local approaches.

Media education in the common interest: Public perceptions of media literacy policy in Latvia

Although the academic interest in media and information literacy (MIL) is ever increasing, there are not many studies that analyze the public perception of media literacy. This article analyses the interrelations between encouragement measures implemented by media policy and the perception of media literacy in society. The research employs data from a national representative survey (May 2019; N=1,017 respondents). The study explores the respondents’ media literacy perceptions; opinions on risks potentially caused by insufficient media literacy skills; and respondents’ experience with MIL activities. The survey results are compared with survey data on media literacy encouragement measures, aims and target audiences obtained from the Media Policy Unit at the Ministry of Culture media literacy partners. The theoretical background is supported by the media literacy ideological model, which explains media literacy within relationships with the social institutions in which it is practiced, as well as social processes. The data results are controversial. Even though more than half of Latvia’s population view their media literacy knowledge as insufficient, 52% of the respondents are not interested in MIL issues. Concerning the consequences of insufficient media literacy skills within society, the respondents focused mostly on threats to children (40%) and general public safety (28%), decrease in welfare (28%), societal regress (25%), fewer opportunities for high-quality education (26%) and Latvia being behind other EU countries (24%). Even though the media literacy encouragement measures in Latvia include activities aimed at various audiences, they have been noticed by only a slight number of respondents (7–10%).

Methods to Evaluate Electricity Policy from Climate Perspective

Abstract Nowadays government policies to mitigate climate change are of a wide variety and they are evaluated before and after implementation. Much research has been conducted on how climate change policy will affect the climate. However, there is very little research on policies that are not intended to mitigate or reduce climate change and which, from the policy makers’ point of view, have no relation to climate change. The goal of this study is to review the electricity policy in Latvia and the aspects that can be evaluated under this policy, and apply multiple-criteria analysis to determine on what spheres the electricity policy leaves the most positive impact – is it climate or are they consumers and other electricity market players? The outcome of the analysis shows that, at the national level, the most positive impact on climate is provided by the National Energy and Climate Plan, indicating that climate is taken into consideration mostly only under complex multi-sectoral legislation.

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF FISCAL POLICY IN LATVIA

The choice and topicality of the research topic is based on the fact that upon strengthening of the government's regulating role in economy, the notion of public finances positions itself, and state budget has become an important subject of both economic and political discussions as implementation of fiscal policy is takes place through it. In order to evaluate fiscal policy, it is necessary to evaluate the potential influence of different fiscal policy instruments on social and economic situation in the state. Aim of the research – to evaluate activities of fiscal policy implemented in Latvia in context of certain tax, namely, influence of corporate income tax on state's economic and financial indicators, identifying the main risks and imperfections of fiscal policy when ensuring state's budget. Applying simulation methods in the environment of Matlab/Simulink, the authors analyze and evaluate the influence of fiscal decisions and their implementation on the situation in Latvia, analyzing the most important tendencies in the sphere of corporate income tax payments according to the tax reform commenced in 2018.

ASSESSMENT OF FISCAL POLICY IN LATVIA

The aim of the research is: to evaluate the fiscal policy in Latvia in accordance with the theoretical and practical conclusions of scientific investigations in the world, to determine the main fiscal risks and to find fiscal policy gaps in national government budgeting as well as in the use of funds and to define recommendations for making a sustainable fiscal policy in the country. At present, economic development in the world and Europe, the geopolitical situation, the migration of the population as well as the domestic problems of the development of Latvia pose new challenges to the government’s fiscal policy; they create new fiscal risks and problems that require strong fiscal discipline and an efficient fiscal policy. The fact that Latvia did not have fiscal reserve resources for easier survival of the crisis is a severe and painful lesson about the errors in the fiscal policy. New circumstances that have occurred recently have to be taken into account by the policy makers. In order to build an effective fiscal policy, the following has to be found out: the most important factors of impact, whether they are of objective or subjective nature, and what fiscal risks may threaten the performance of individual fiscal indicators, and how big must be the fiscal security reserve.

Cooperation and Collaboration Impact on Policy Development: HIV/AIDS Policy in Latvia

Cooperation and Collaboration Impact on Policy Development: HIV/AIDS Policy in Latvia

Культурна політика Латвії: ефективні шляхи збереження та популяризації нематеріальної культурної спадщини

Культурна політика Латвії: ефективні шляхи збереження та популяризації нематеріальної культурної спадщини

Increasing resilience of the natural gas system with implementation of renewable methane in the context of Latvia: a system dynamics model

Implementation of renewable energy sources while ensuring security of energy supply is a pressing issue in energy policy planning. Findings in literature suggest that biomethane and power-to-gas applications together with natural gas systems can have great benefits in terms of carbon emission reduction, contribution to local economies and circular economy and important impact to the phasing of fossil fuel-based energy systems. Moreover, according to theoretical background the diversification of supplies in natural gas system will enhance the infrastructural system resilience and contribute to the security of energy supplies. In this light the study presents a system dynamic model for biomethane and power-to-gas application in natural gas system in Latvia with the existing underground storage facility. The natural gas infrastructure technical characteristics, natural gas flow and storage regime dependence on the seasonal gas demand are considered in the model. The model presented in this study can help policy planners to determine the necessary steps for implementation of RES support policy in Latvia to reach goals of EU low carbon economy. This system dynamic model has a potential to be used for energy policy planning together with other system dynamic models developed within the context of Latvia to cover a range of issues in energy sector.

The Policy of Monolingualism and Multilingualism in Latvia and Kazakhstan

This article examines the evolution of language policy in Latvia and Kazakhstan, former republics of the Soviet Union. An analysis of the historical roots and development in the language policies of the two post-Soviet countries makes it possible to identify similarities and differences and advantages and disadvantages in the implementation processes. This article represents complex interdisciplinary research in the fields of linguistics, sociology, education, history, political science, and ethnology. The study is relevant as it considers the little-studied issue of language policy in former USSR republics and countries of the socialist camp. The research takes into account the fact that all countries are aware of the status of cultural soft power in the conditions of ongoing globalisation and a wave of ethnic nationalism where language is increasingly valued as a carrier of national culture. The entire global community, including Latvia and Kazakhstan, constantly adjusts and improves language policy in order to fulfill strategic goals. Latvia and Kazakhstan have similar historical memories and language situations, but they are carrying out different language policies. The government of Latvia has implemented a policy of monolingualism, while Kazakhstan has stuck to a bilingualism policy (although it is also attempting to realise a policy of trilingualism). The authors conclude that monolingualism fundamentally serves politics and occupies a weak position. In an era of globalisation, it is extremely difficult to establish a system of monolingualism in its strict sense; ultimately, it will be replaced by multilingualism.